Plating barrel apparatus including means for rotating the barrel

ABSTRACT

The disclosure pertains to a plating line operation in which a barrel containing the parts to be processed is rotated in liquid baths at a plurality of stations. The barrel is supported on a portable frame which carries structure including a gear for imparting rotary motion to the barrel. Reciprocating racks are provided at each station for engaging the gear when the barrel has been moved into an operative position.

T. R. GILL 3,769,193 PLATING BARREL APPARATUS INCLUDING MEANS FOR Oct. 30, 1973 ROTATING THE BARREL 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 1. 197.1

' INVENTOR.. THO/W45 l2 QMQ/O 06L 1973 T. R.,GILL 3,769,193 PLATING BARREL APPARATUS INCLUDING MEANS FOR ROTATING THE BARREL Filed July 1. 1971 I 2*Sheets-Sheet 2 6 m? Fig.4

INVENTOR. THO/4:45 E. GILL.

BY mm 4 TTOENE Y6 Us. or. 204-213 United States Patent 3,769,193 PLATING BARREL APPARATUS INCLUDING MEANS FOR ROTATING THE BARREL Thomas R. Gill, Cleveland, Ohio, assignor to GS Equipment Company Continuation-impart of application Ser. No. 103,650, Jan. 4, 1971. This application July 1, 1971, Ser.

Int. Cl. C23b 5/78 5 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The disclosure pertains to a plating line operation in barrel is supported on a portable frame which carries I structure including a vgear for imparting rotary motion to the barrel. Reciprocating racks are provided at each station for engaging the gear when the barrel has been .moved into an operative position.

'CROSS-REFERENCETO RELATED APPLICATION This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 103,650 of Thomas R. Gill, filed Jan. 4, 1971 and entitled Variable Speed Hydraulic Drive System.

SUMMARY OF .THE INVENTION The presentjinvention relates generally to the plating art, and more specifically to apparatus and methods employed in plating line operations.

An object of the invention is to provide a simplified method and apparatus for rotating a plating barrel in a liquid bath. I

Another object of the invention is to provide a conveniently operated and inexpensive apparatus for rotating a plating barrel at the several stations of a plating line.

A further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus for supporting a plating barrel for movement to a plurality of stations in a plating line and for rotating the barrel at each station.

' Still another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus including a portable frame which rotatably supports a plating barrel and is adapted to be moved by crane to a plurality of stations in a plating line, a gear carried by the frame for imparting rotary motion to the barrel, and a reciprocating rack at each station for engaging the gear and rotating the barrel.

Other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention will be had from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS "Referring now to the drawings, the illustrated embodiment of the invention is shown to comprise a portable frame 10 which is adapted to be carried by a crane apparatus, such as that disclosed in copending application Ser. No. 103,650. The frame 10 supports a plating barrel Patented Oct. 30, 1973 11 so that the barrel, which contains the parts to be processed in a plating operation, can be immersed and rotated in a liquid bath in a tank.

The frame 10 is comprised of a beam 15, a pair of hanger arms 16, 17 which depend from the beam 15, and plates 18 connected to the beam near its ends. A pair of hooks 19 are secured to the top of the beam 15 for engaging the frame 10 on a crane.

The barrel 11 is rotatably mounted by hubs 25 which are journaled in the heads 26 of the barrel. The hubs 25 are carried in the hanger arms 16, 17 and are vertically adjustable. Electrode assemblies 27 extend through the hubs 25 into the barrel 1 1. Rotary motion is transmitted to the barrel 11 by structure including a shaft 30- which is carried by the frame 10 below the beam 15. The shaft 30 is rotatably supported by bearing assemblies 31 connected to the plates 18. Pulley belts 32 are engaged around the heads 26 of the barrel 11 and pulleys 33 which are fixed on the shaft 30.

As shown in FIG. -1, the portable frame 10 is supported in an operative position over the tank 12. The frame 10 is supported by bars 36 which are connected to opposite ends of the tank 12 by brackets 37. A pair of blocks 38 having grooves or channels in their lower surfaces are connected to the ends of the frame 10 for engagement with the bars 36.

A reciprocating rack 45 is mounted adjacent the tank 12 for rotating the barrel .11 when the frame 10 has been lowered into operative position on the support bars 36. The rack 45 is reciprocally disposed in the guideway 46 which is secured to the side of the tank 12 on a plate 47. The rack 45 is reciprocated by a double-acting air cylinder 48 mounted on the underside of the plate 47. The piston rod 49 of the air cylinder 48 is connected to the rack 45 by a member 50 which extends through a slot in the bottom of the guideway 46.

The fluid circuit for the air cylinder 48 includes a pilot operated, two-position, four-way directional valve 60 which is connected to a manifold '61 mounted on a bracket 62. The cylinder or pressure ports of the valve 60 communicate with internal passages in the manifold 61 which are connected to opposite ends of the air cylinder by conduits 65, 66. The inlet port of the valve 60 communicates with an inlet passage in the manifold 61 which is connected by a conduit 67 to a manually operated, two-position control valve 68. An inlet conduit 69 is connected to the valve 68 and to a suitable air source (not shown).

The operation of the directional valve 60 is controlled in response to movement of the rack 45 by a pair of mechanically operated valves 75, 76 which are connected to the pilot cylinders of the valve 60 by conduits 77, 78, respectively. The valves 75, 76 are mounted on the bracket 62 in position to be alternately operated by an actuator bar 79 which is connected to the rack 45. The valves 75, 76 communicate with the inlet passage of the manifold 61 through a conduit connection 80.

As shown in FIG. 4, the directional valve 60' is positioned to connect the conduit 65 to the conduit 67 and to connect the conduit 66 to exhaust. In this position of the valve 60, the cylinder 48 is extended to move the rack 45 to the right, as viewed in FIG. 2, until the actuator bar 79 engages and opens the valve 75. When the valve is opened by engagement of the bar 79, the conduit is connected to the conduit 77 to supply air to the pilot cylinder 60A. The resulting pressure increase in the pilot cylinder 60A is effective to shift the valve 60 to the right, as viewed in FIG. 4, thereby connecting the conduits 66, 67 and connecting the conduit 65 to exhaust. This causes the cylinder 48 to be retracted and to move the rack 45 to the left until the valve 76 is engaged and opened by the actuator bar 79. When the valve 76 is opened, the air pressure in the pilot cylinder 60B is ef fective to return the valve 60 to the position illustrated in FIG. 4 so that the cylinder 48 is again extended. As will be apparent from the foregoing description, the illustrated circuit is effective to continuously reciprocate the rack 45 when the manual valve 68 has been opened to connect the conduits 67, 69. Although the cylinder 48 has been described as being air actuated, it will be understood that the cylinder can be hydraulically operated if desired.

The reciprocating rack 45 cooperates with a gear 90 on the shaft 30 to rotate the barrel 11. In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, rotation of the barrel 11 is limited to an arc of 180 or less in order to prevent the articles being processed from spilling out of the barrel through the opening 91 at its top. To this end a pair of spaced stop members 92, 93 are secured to one of the barrel heads 26, as shown in FIG. 3. The stop members 92, 93 are alternatively engageable with a stop member 94 on the hanger arm 16 in order to limit rotative movement of the barrel. The gear 90 is preferably a slip clutch gear which can rotate relative to the shaft 30 when either of the stop members 92, 93 is engaged with the stop member 94. When the slip clutch gear 90 is engaged with the reciprocating rack 45, the barrel 1-1 will be rotated until one of the members 92, 93 abuts the member 94 to stop rotation of the barrel. The slip clutch gear 90 will then rotate on the shaft 30 until the cylinder 48 is actuated to move the rack 45 in the opposite direction. If desired, the stop members 92, 93, 94 can be eliminated and the barrel 11 can be provided with a cover for the opening 91 in order to prevent the articles in the barrel from falling out of the opening.

When carrying out a plating operation, the frame 10 is moved along a path of travel above a plurality of aligned, open tanks 12 which contain the various liquid baths, such as water rinse baths, cleaner solutions, plating solutions, etc., in which the parts in the barrel 11 are to be processed. In accordance with the present invention, a reciprocating rack 45 is provided in association with each of the tanks. The crane apparatus which carries the frame 10 is stopped at a desired station above a tank and the frame is lowered into the illustrated, supported position so that the barrel is at least partially immersed in the liquid. When the frame is lowered into its operative position above the tank, the gear -90 is engaged with the reciprocating rack 45 to rotate the barrel in the bath. After processing for a suitable length of time, the frame 10 is elevated to raise the barrel 11 from the tank and is then moved along its path of travel to the next station where the operation is repeated.

Each of the racks associated with the various tanks in the plating line may be reciprocated by separate cylinders and fluid circuits as described above. Alternatively, the racks adjacent the aligned tanks may be rigidl connected together by bars or the like and the rack assembly reciprocated by a single cylinder. Such an arrangement makes it unnecessary to provide separate circuits for each tank, and only one circuit is required for the actuating cylinder. In still another arrangement which is diagrammatically illustrated in FIG. 5, racks, 45a, 45b, 450 are reciprocally mounted adjacent aligned tanks 12a, 12b, 12c and are actuated by cylinders 48a, 48b, 480, respectively. The several cylinders are connected in series by conduits 100, and the end cylinders 48a, 480 are respectively connected by conduits 101, 102 to the pressure ports of a directional flow valve 60. The valve 60 is controlled by a pair of valves (not shown) which areoperated in the same manner as the valves 75, 76 described above in connection with FIGS. l4.. Fluid is supplied to the valve 60 through a manual control valve 68.

It will be seen from FIG. that all of the racks 45a, 45b, 45c will be reciprocated by reversing the valve 60. When the valve 60 is in the illustrated position, fluid is supplied through the valve to extend the cylinder 48a.

The fluid exhausted from the cylinder 48a, as it is extended is admitted to extend the cylinder 48b, and the fluid exhausted from the cylinder 48b is admitted to extend the cylinder 48c. When the valve 60 is reversed, fluid is supplied through the valve to retract the cylinder 48c, and the fluid exhausted from the cylinder 48c through the conduit causes the other cylinders 48a, 48b to retract.

Many other variations and modifications of the invention will be obvious to those skilled in the art in the light of the foregoing detailed disclosure. Therefore, it is to be understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention can be practiced otherwise than as specifically shown and described.

What is claimed is: p

1. In an apparatus adapted for use in plating operations in which articles are processed in a liquid bath contained in a tank, the improvement comprising:

(a) frame means which can be raised and lowered above the tank,

(b) a rotatable shaft carried by said frame means,

(c) an article container rotatably mounted on said frame means so that said container can be placed in and removed from the liquid bath by lowering and raising said frame means,

(d) rotation means connecting said container to said shaft, said rotation means including a pair of pulley belts operatively connected to opposite end portions of said container for imparting driving torque thereto,

(e) coacting stop means on said frame means and operatively connected to said container for limiting rotation of said container through an arc of a predetermined extent, 7

(f) drive means for actuating said shaft, said drive means including:

(i) first toothed drive structure mounted on said shaft,

(ii) second toothed drive structure mounted adjacent said tank in a location to be. engaged by said first toothed drive structure when said frame means is lowered to place said container in the liquid bath,

(iii) a reversible motor operatively connected to said second toothed drive structure,

(iv) means for operatively disengaging said motor from said shaft upon coacting engagement of said stop means,

(g) motor control means operatively connected to said motor for reversing its direction of operation, and,

(h) means for operating said control means in response to movement of at least one of said toothed drive structures.

2. The improvement as claimed in claim 1 wherein said toothed drive structures comprise a rack and a gear engageable with said rack.

3. The improvement as claimed in claim l wherein said first toothed drive structure comprises a gear and said second toothed drive structure comprises a rack.

4. Article processing apparatus adapted for use in plating line operations comprising:

(a) a plurality of tanks,

(b) frame means adapted to be moved from tank to tank and to be raised and lowered over each tank,

(c) a rotatable shaft carried by said frame means,

(d) an article container rotatably mounted on said frame means so that said container can be placed in and removed from a selected tank by raising and lowering said frame means,

(e) rotation means connecting said container to said shaft,said rotation means including a pair of pulley belts operatively connected to opposite end portions of said container for imparting driving torque thereto,

(f) coacting stop means on said frame means and op eratively connected to said container for limiting rotation of said container through an arc of a predetermined extent,

(g) shaft actuating means including:

(i) first toothed drive structure mounted on said shaft,

(ii) second toothed drive structure mounted adjacent said tanks in locations to be engaged by said first toothed drive structure when said frame means is lowered to place said container in each of said tanks,

(iii) reversible motor means operatively connected to said second toothed drive structure,

(iv) means for operatively disengaging said motor means from said shaft upon coacting engagement of said stop means,

(h) motor control means operatively connected to said motor means for reversing the direction of operation, and,

(i) means for operating said control means in response to movement of at least one of said toothed drive structures.

5. Article processing apparatus adapted for use in plating line operations comprising:

(a) a plurality of tanks,

(b) frame means adapted to be moved from tank to tank and to be raised and lowered over each tank, -(c) a rotatable shaft carried by said frame means, (d) an article container rotatably mounted on said frame means so that said container can be placed in and removed from a selected tank by raising and lowering said frame means,

(e) rotation means connecting said container to said shaft, said rotation means including a pair of pulley belts operatively connected to opposite end portions of said container for imparting driving torque thereto,

(f) coacting stop means on said frame means and operatively connected to said container for limiting ro- '6 tation of said container through an arc of a predetermined extent, g) shaft actuating means including:

(i) gear means mounted on said shaft,

(ii) reciprocal rack means mounted adjacent said tanks for engagement by said gear means when said frame means is lowered to place said container in each tank,

(iii) reversible motor means operatively connected to said rack means,

(iv) means for operatively disengaging said motor means from said shaft upon coacting engagement of said stop means,

(h) motor control means operatively connected to said motor means for reversing the direction of operation, and,

(i) means for operating said control means in response to movement of at least one of said toothed drive structures.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,022,881 2/1962 Harper et a1. 204-201 UX 2,830,094 4/1958 Pleadwell 204-214 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,011,251 6/1952 France 204-222 871,354 6/1961 Great Britain 204-213 3,674,673 7/1972 Jessup 204-213 JOHN H. MACK, Primary Examiner W. I. SOLOMON, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

